Four Seasons Cartagena

Four Seasons Cartagena occupies several of Cartagena’s most important historic buildings in Getsemaní, including the 16th-century Cloister of Saint Francis, the Saint Francis Temple and Club Cartagena, a Beaux Arts landmark designed by architect Gastón Lelarge. French star designer François Catroux did the interiors, preserving the vaulted ceilings, cloisters, arcades and original masonry while introducing tropical courtyards, marble floors and locally made furniture.

Rooms and suites have views over tiled rooftops, Cartagena Bay and internal courtyards. Inside, they’re styled with Colombian art and plasterwork by artists including Miguel Cárdenas and Alejandro Hernández. The Catroux Suite, named for the designer, includes a terrace with a plunge pool, historical arched windows and a Moorish-inspired ceramic fountain.

There are eight different restaurants and bars to choose from in the complex. Enjoy steakhouse classics inside the restored Club Cartagena building at the Grand Grill by Chef Mario Carbone, or Italian fare at Pizzeria Della Chiesa in the former Teatro Cartagena. On the rooftop, El Palmar pairs views across the bay with Caribbean-Latin dishes and cocktails, and at El Aljibe, you descend into a former water reservoir to Cartagena’s first speakeasy.

There are two rooftop pools overlooking the walled city and harbour, and in the Umari Spa, you can try a Colombian botanical treatment or sound healing session. You can also take a graffiti workshop that shows you the real Getsemaní, as well as salsa dancing sessions, boat trips to the Rosario Islands, ceviche cooking classes or guided walks through Cartagena’s markets.